A Goblet of Wine
by TheShadowChild7
Summary: Perhaps Sirius and Bellatrix aren't so different, after all. Andromeda, after being disowned, reflects upon a conversation with her sisters and cousins. Rated T for mentions of alcohol abuse


A Goblet of Wine

Andromeda sat down on the filthy street with her cousin, their trunks behind them. They were no longer Blacks. They were just nameless witches and wizards. And Andromeda liked it that way. But there was something all too familiar about the way Sirius had yelled at his father. Something in the way he had kicked his chair and in the way he had stomped up the stairs. There was something now, in the way he was bent forward, a bottle of wine in his hand, skilfully stolen from the dinner party they had escaped. Something painfully similar to someone Andromeda swore to forget.

_Bellatrix's fake smile vanished once the five cousins were in the safety of Sirius's room. She raised her silver goblet, smiling drunkenly through wine-stained lips. _

_"To the new Heir Black," she slurred, grinning at Sirius. _

_Sirius was sprawled on his bed, his legs on the pillow and his torso on the floor. His face had turned a horrid shade of red and he was smiling almost manically. He watched with great fascination as Bellatrix removed her pendant and rings. _

_"Don't you worry, Bella," he said. "I'll be gone soon. Reggie dearest will take my place, won't you, brother?" _

_Bellatrix laughed loudly, highly, regarding Sirius with great amusement. "Are you taking little Meda with you, too?" she said in her newly acquired baby voice. "I heard she's seeing a Mudblood." _

_Regulus, who had remained silent until then, was turning red with anger. "How dare you?" he said quietly. "You promised, Sirius." _

_Sirius pushed himself up with less ease than he would have normally and looked at his brother. "Promise? I never promised anything." _

_"YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE! YOU PROMISED ME YOU'D STAY HERE WITH US FOREVER! YOU SAID WE WERE FAMILY!" _

_Sirius smiled, downing his goblet. He picked up a tattered Gryffindor banner from the floor and ran his hand over it. "Relatives, not family," he corrected finally. "There's a difference, Reggie. Not that you would know..." _

_"Really?" said Regulus, eyes flashing. "I suppose James bloody Potter is better than your own blood?" his voice was rising with every word. _

_Narcissa was listening to their argument with an equal amount of amusement and irritation. Bellatrix and Sirius were the only ones intoxicated, as always. Those two always took advantage of dinner parties to get drunk. Regulus was just angry. It was to be expected, with that Snape boy as his best friend._

_Bellatrix cackled slightly, spilling a bit of wine on the carpet. Andromeda watched as the wine spread out in a large stain, like blood on the white carpet. Blood. Andromeda was training to be a Healer. Blood didn't scare her. But they were in Sirius's room. This could have been her family's blood. She could imagine Sirius lying lifeless on the floor, his eyes fluttering shut for the last time. _

_"I heard that Lupin boy's a werewolf," Bellatrix slurred finally, bringing her sister back to reality. "Are you not ashamed, Sirius? Disgracing the family like that?" _

_They both laughed. Bellatrix knew very well he didn't care about the House of Black. _

_Narcissa leaned back in her chair to whisper in Andromeda's ear. "It's funny, isn't it?" she said. "How Sirius is leaving soon and Bellatrix is taking the Dark Mark and they're sitting and laughing as if they won't be on opposite sides of the battlefield next week."_

_But Andromeda wasn't surprised. That was just who they were. Alphard had always compared them to fire – they were impressive, restless, symbols of passion. They were just like the flames in the Blacks' drawing room fireplace – they could brighten your entire room with their smiles, they could keep you company and make you feel warm. But if you weren't careful, they could burn you. They could kill you. They could destroy you within seconds. _

_Bellatrix and Sirius's fingers were intertwined as they both stared at Sirius's new Heir's Ring. _

"_What a shame," whispered Bellatrix, running a cold hand through her cousin's long, black hair. "Such a beautiful ring it is, Sirius... Think of the power it can give you... Don't let it go to waste." _

"_I'm leaving, Bella. I'll find power elsewhere. We'll meet again. On opposite sides of the war, but we'll still be family..." _

_He took a deep breath. "I'm never leaving you, Reggie. I know what I said about relatives and family. We're no family anymore. Blood is thicker than water, but love is stronger than blood. Admit it, brother; there is no love between us. But we'll still be relatives, no matter how shaming it is for the both of us." _

_Regulus refused to listen. He stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut. Bellatrix and Sirius fell asleep almost instantly. Side by side, fingers intertwined. And there, in the dim light of the chandelier, Andromeda could see the resemblance, not only in their black hair or their pronounced cheekbones, or even in their patrician beauty, but in their personalities. They had the same burning passion, the same unending desire to protect their loved ones, the same determination to fight for what they believed in. But Bellatrix fought for blood purity and Sirius fought for equality. And they'd never be the same._

And so Andromeda stared at her cousin's pained expression as he downed the wine bottle with a sound of disappointment. They would never be nobodies. They were Blacks. And no matter how hard they tried, they'd always be Blacks. Because it wasn't just a surname. It was the passion and the determination and the desire. It was the insanity that many said coursed through their veins. It was Sirius's stubbornness and his bravery and Bellatrix's wit and carelessness. It was Regulus's loyalty and naivety. It was Narcissa's vanity and courtesy. It was their insanity. The Black blood was their gift and their curse. And it would kill them in the end, like it had killed their ancestors before them.


End file.
